Working group releases report to restore Muni cuts

Remember when Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor David Chiu convened a Muni Restoration Working Group and promised to come up with a plan that would help Muni restore all the service cuts from the last year?

Apparently, the group has come out with its draft report, which claims to have new ways in which the agency could restore the remaining service it cuts from earlier this year. But surprise, surprise, it’s going to cost taxpayers money — $22 million to be exact.

So what’s the point of drafting a report with recommendations that calls for money Muni doesn’t have, which is why the cuts were made in the first place?

According to the report, Muni officials could come up with the $22 million through a combination of sources, including reducing labor and benefit costs, an unlikely proposal, considering the lack of labor concession is partly what got us here in the first place.

Other ideas include asking the state and feds for more money and allowing for advertising on Muni assets.

Realistic or not, the report might at the very least make riders feel better.